Paper separator for typewriters



5w @9% C. VJ.. MARSH PAPER SEPARATOR FOR TYPEWRITERS Filed Jan. B. 1923 '2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS.

PAPER SEPARATOR FOR TYPEWRITERS y Filed Jan. 8. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheen?, 2

@iQ/5i A TTORNEYS.

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l 1 fi il E Mgmt? @ENT @FHQEO CLIFFORDrW. MARSH, 0F BBIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

PAPER SEPAVBATOR FOR TYPEWRITEBS.

Application led January 8, 1923. Serial No. 611,221.

To all who-m. t may concer/n.'

Be it known that I, CLIFFORD W. MARsH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Paper Separator for Typewriters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to typewriting maf chines .and especially to the means for feeding and supporting thel work sheets and transfer material for the writing` operation.

In the ordinary operation of writing letters on the typewriter where one or more carbon copies are desired a great deal of time is lost in interleaving the work sheets with the carbon paper and then setting the sheets in the machine preparatory to the Writing operation. Further time is also lost in separating the sheets after the writing operation is completed. Furthermore in the use of carbon sheets of substantially the same size as the work sheets there is danger of soiling'the work sheets in the handling as the fingers of the operator are soiled by the carbon paper, and if erasures are necessary considerable time is lost in advancing the work sheets and transfer'paper to a position where a card may be inserted beneath the transfer paper to prevent smudging of the carbon copy! during the erasing operation.

The present invention has for an object, therefore, the provision of means 'whereby the loss of time involved in interleaving the work sheets with the carbon or transfer paper, assembling them together and inserting them in the machine may be greatly reduced` and whereby vthe work sheets may be assembled in the machine for writing `with a minimum expenditure of time and eEort.

Itis also an object of the invention to provide mechanism in which in the ordinary Writing operation there is no handling of the carbon or transfer paper by the operator required, so that soiling of the fingers and the resultant soiling of the work sheets is eliminated, and also one in which a considerable saving of carbon paper or transfer material'is obtained.

lit` is a further objecty of the invention to'provide a devi'ce of this character' in whichthe operation of making erasures isgfacilitated. t

With the foregoing and other obyects 1n view, l have devised the novel mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which y F ig.'1 is a front elevation of the device in the position it 'will normally occupy when inuse on a typewriter, the end members of the ordinary reciprocating carriage of the typewriter being shown in section.

Fig. 2 is transverse section through the device and also the usual work sheet supp ort and guiding means carried by the carriage.

F ig. 3 is a similar view of theelements immediately adjacent the platen, but on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the separator element showing it inthe position it occupies in respect to the guide rollers carried by the typewriter carriage.

In these drawings l have not illustrated the specific mechanism of the typewriter as it is that of the standard typewriter. l have however, indicated at 10 the top of the typewriter frame and at 11 the reciprocating carriage ordinarily employed to carry the platen and the work sheets. This carriage 1s reciprocated in the usual manner by any desired type of reciprocating mechanism, not shown, controlled by the operation of the keys of the typewriter. In Fig. f2- have shown at 12 a type bar in the position for making an impression. Carried by the carriage 11 is the usual curved guide plate 13 extending under the platen and having openings 14 and 15 therethrough for the guide rollers 16 and 17 adapted to press the work sheets against the platen so that the sheets willbe advanced to writing position upon rotationI of the platen in the usual manner. These elements so far described are the standard elements now employed generally on typewriters of this type.

rlhe end bars of the carriage 11, 'as shown in Fig. 1, have bearings 18 and slidable securing ca s 19 for rotatably securing a platen, which platen in this specific structure shown may be easily removed by lifting the same from these bearings after the securing caps vor slides 19 Vhave been retracted by any suitable means such as the knob 2O in a manner well known. My invention comprises preferably a rotatable platen 21 simiar to the ordinary platen having bearings 22 adapted to seat in the hearings ,18 of the GCS vtheA same as the ordinary platen, but of course other types of platens may be employed if desired. This platen is also pref-.

erably provided withV the same type of toothed ratchet wheel 24 adapted to coact with the ordinary ratchet, not shown, to give the proper line spacing. This platen is also mounted in a frame comprising end members 25 and 26, preferably of sheet metal, connected together by another plate 27, and the platen rotates in bearings in these plates. Extending longitudinally across the front of the platen is a strip of carbon paper or transfer material 28 of suitable width, but preferably relatively narrow or substantially the same Width as' the ordinary typewriter ribbon indicated at 29., This transfer strip is held so that it extends longitudinally of the platen at the forward side thereof dn the line of writing and between the original copy ribbon and the platen, This strip of transfer material is preferably made of considerable length and wound on a supply drum or reel 30 carried by the end member 26 from which it leads l over an inclined guide 31 across the front Aof the platen around a second inclined guide 32 and to the reel or drum 33 carried by the other end plate 25 on which the used transfer strip may be wound. A hand knob 34 may also be provided on this reel for manual operation of the same in adjusting a transfer strip. I also rovide means for advancing this trans er strip automatically upon rotation of the platen, and provide for this purpose a gear 35 on the platen meshing with an idler gear 36 carried by the end wall 25v and meshing with anothergear 37 having driving connection with the reel 33. This driving connection should be a one way connection so that the reel will be rotated only in a direction to wind up the transfer paper upon rotation of the p aten in a"direction to advance the work sheets. It should not rotate the reel upon rotation of the platen in the opposite direction. l have not'illustrated this connection s Y ifically as it may be any ordinary an well known drive such 'as a pawl and ratchet. I also preferably provide a spring 38 bear ing against the supply reel 30 to yieldingly retard the rotation thereof and thus maintain the transfer strip taut across the front of the platen. The pressure of this spring may be adjusted by the nut 39.

Secured to the end members 25 and 26 and extending between the same is a curved guide plate and separator 40, and it is curved so as to extend closely adjacent the surface of the platen at the under side thereof, as

' Vshown in Figs. 2 and 3. This-plate terminates at the front side of the platen adjacent the lower adige of the stri of transfer material but pre erably exten s a slight distance above this lower edge and on the side towards the platen, as shown in Figs. 2 :ind 3. At the rear of the platen it includes a substantially flat portion 41 extending upwardly between the platen and the rear wall 27. This plate or separator is also provided with openings 42 and 43 for the guide rollers 16 and 17 respectively. This separator plate is so pbsitioned that when the platen is mounted within the bearings 18 in the end walls of the carriage 11 and the rear wall 27 rests against the upwardly extending rear portion 13 of the guide plate 13 it will lie between the curved portion of this plate and the platen, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and the guide rollers 416 and 17 will be in alignment with the openings 42 and 43 rcspectively, so that this separato-r will not interfere with the operation of the rollers when pressing the work sheets against the surface of the platen. A t the forward side of the platen are also the usual holding clips 44 carried by the carriage 11 and provided with the usual rollers 45 yieldingly pressed against the work sheets to hold them against the platen.

In operation a pair of wbt-k sheets,1 designed for the original and manifold copies 46 and 47 respectively, after .being superposed are inserted in the machine by passing their lower edges between the platen and the roller 17 but on opposite sides of the upwardly extending rear part 41 of the separator 40as shown in Fig. 3. ,Rotation of the platen in the direction of the arrow in the usual manner will feed these sheets forwardly around the platen 4as in the ordinary typewriter, the rollers 1'6 and 17 holding these sheets against the surface of the platen in the usual manner. At other times, however, these sheets are held separated bythe separator or guide plate 40, and as the transfer strip 28 is a substantial continuation vof this separator the two sheetsof paper are guided to opposite sides of this transfer strip4 v and the outer sheet 46 willl be; guided by means of the usual guide plate 4,8 carriedl by the carriage to the under side of the original copy ribbon 29. It will thus be' apparent that the two work sheets are'now in position for writing and that the usual carbon copy will be made -with the original.

It will also be apparent'that no interleaving of the work sheets with the transfer paper or handling of this transfer paper is required in setting up the work sheets, and there is practically no more trouble in setting up a plurality of ywork sheets to give a carbon copy in addition to the original or ribbon copy than is required in the ordinary machine after the sheets have been inter-v leaved. As the transfer `strip extends throughout the entirevlength ofthe platen platen sheets" and is always on the line of writing no attention has to be paidas to Whether the transfer paper is of a proper size for the Work sheets, and so'there is no danger of omitting part of the original copy from the carbon copy. Also there is no Wastage of transfer material as the entire strip is used on its passage across the front of the platen. 1t will further be apparent that when erasures are necessary, by merely rotating the platen a certain amount to advance the line of writing beyond the transfer material these erasures may be made Without interferi-ng with the transfer material in any way,

or Without the necessity of placing a card beneath the transfer material to prevent smudging of the copy during the erasing operation. VAlso thatat the completion of the yWriting operation there is no transfer sheet interleaved with the Work sheets, and there is, therefore, no time lost in separating them.

It will be 'still further apparent that the .device is very simple in construction and that itis as easily applied to and removed from the machine as is the ordinary platen. Furthermore the platen 21, the frame comprising elements 25, 26 andQT, the reels and*- supports for the transfer material .28, and the work sheet separator and guiding-element 40, 41, constitute a complete carrier unit which. after the ordinary platen has been re` moved from the machine, may be substituted therefor and will take the place thereof, the platen of the carrier unit being mounted in the supports for the ordinary platen. y

I have illustrated and described the invention as constructed to provide a single carbon copy in addition to the original or ribbon copy so have used a single separator 40, but'it will be apparent that one or more additional carbon copies may be secured by increasing the number of separators and strips of transfer material.

I have also illustrated and described the invention as constructed to provide a curved guide plate and separator 40 and 41 on the lunderside of and adjacent to the platen but said separator guide may extend any distance on the lower face ofthe platen from the lower edge of the transfer material.'

l l have also'shown the separator and guiding means as applied to a platen carrier vunit but said means may be applied to any platen. l

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. rihe combination with the printing devices of a typewriter having a reciprocating mechanism, of a carrier comprising in coinbination as a unit, a platen, means for carrying transfer material at one side of said a separator arranged to direct Work to the opposite sides of the transfer material, and means! to removably connect .said carrier unit with said reciprocating mechanism.

2. The combination with the printing devices of a typewriter having a reciprocating mechanism, of a carrier comprising in combination as a unit, a rotatable platen, means for carrying one or more strips of transfer material transversely to the direction of rotation of said platen, and means to separate and direct work-sheets into a copying relation with said transfer material, and means to removably connect said carrier unit with said reciprocating mechanism.

3. The combination with the printing devices of a typewriter having a reciprocating mechanism, of a carrier comprising in combination as a unit, a platen, means for supporting a strip of transfer material at one side of the platen, a separating and guiding means arranged to directv individual Work sheets. to the opposite sides of the transferv material, means for feeding the transfer material longitudinally of the platen, and

4. The combination with the printing devices of a typewriter-having a reciprocating mechanism and means to removably connect a platen with said reciprocating mecha nism, of a carrier removably connected with said reciprocating mechanism' and comprising in combination as a unit, a platen,means for supporting transfer material at one side of said platen, and a separating and guiding means arranged to direct individual worksheets to the opposite sides of the vtransfer material.

5. The combination with the printing devices of a typewriter having a reciprocating mechanism and means to removably connect a platen with said reciprocating mechanism, of a carrier adapted to be removably connected with said reciprocating mechanism and comprising in combination `as a unit, a

. tion transverse to the direction of the feed of the work-sheets.

6. The combination With the printing devices of a typewriter having a reciprocating mechanism and means to removably connect a platen with said reciprocating mechanism, of a carrier adapted to be removably connected with said reciprocating mechanism by said connecting means and comprising in combination as a unit, a platen, means for supporting a strip of transfer material at one side of said platen, a separating and guiding means arranged to direct individual work sheets to the opposite sides of the transfer material, and means for feeding the lti transfer material in a direction transverse` a rotary platen with said carriage, and guide means carried b the carriage adapted to coact with the platen to feed a plurality of individual work sheets to writing position, of a carrier adapted to be removably connected with said carriage by said platen securing means and comprising in combination as a unit a rotatable platen adapted to coact with said guide means, means for supporting a strip of transfer material at one side of the platen, and a separator at one side of the platen arranged to direct the individual work sheets to oppositefasides of the transfer material. v

8. The combination of the printing devices of a typewriter having a carriage, means on said carniage to removably connect a rotary platen with said carriage, andy guide means carried by the carriage adapted to coact with the platen to feed a plurality of individual work sheets to writing position, of

' a carrier adapted to be removably connected with said carriage by said platen securing means and comprising in combination as a unit a rotatable platen adapted to coact with said guide means, means forl supporting a strip of transfer material at one side of the platen, means for rotating the platen to feed the work sheets to writing position, a separator at. one side of the platen arranged to direct the work sheets to oppositesides of the transfer material, and means for feeding the transfer material in a direction transverse to the direction of feed of the work sheets. A

9. In a manifolding attachment for writing machines having a reciprocating mechanism and means to removably connect a platen with said reciprocating mechanism, a carrier adapted to be removably connected with said reciprocating mechanism, and comprising in combination as a unit, a platen, means for holding one or inoie strips of transfer material transversely to the direction of rotation of the platen, and a separating and guiding means arranged to diiect work-sheetsto the opposite sides of the transfer material. y 10. In a manifolding attachment for writw ing machines having a reciprocating mechanism and means t0 removably connect a platen with said reciprocating mechanisnna carrier adapted to be removably connected with said reciprocating mechanism b said platen connecting means and comprising in combination as a unit, a rotatable laten, means for holding one or more strips of transfer material transversely tothe direction of rotation of the platen, and a separating and guiding means arranged to direct vwork-sheets to the opposite sides of the transfer material.

l1. In a manifolding attachment for writing machines having a reciprocating mechanism and means to removably connect a platen with said reciprocating mechanism, a carrier adapted to be removably connected with said reciprocating mechanism, andV comprising in combination as a unit, a rotatable platen, means for carrying one or more strips of transfer material transversely to the direction of rotation of the' platen, and a separating and guiding means arranged to guide Work-sheets into a copy? ingrelation with the said transfer material.

12. Inamanifolding attachment for writing machines having a reciprocating mechanism and means to removably connect a platen with said reciprocating mechanism,v

a carrier adapted to be removably connected with said reciprocating mechanism and comprising in combination as a unit, a rotatable platen, means for carrying a strip of transfer material and feeding the same trans-v versely to' the direction of rotation of said platen,`and a'separating and guiding meansextending longitudinally throughout substantially the length of the writing line lof the typewriter and downwardly from aA point above the lowe edge of the transfer material but below the said writing line, said means arranged'to direct work-sheets into a copying relation with the said transfer material.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CLIFFORD W. MARSH. 

